ASSEMBLY ASKS IEC TO RECOVER OVER D15M OF UNLAWFULLY PAID ALLOWANCES

By Tabora Bojang

The National Assembly yesterday adopted the report of its Finance and Public Accounts Committee FPAC on the audited financial statement of public institutions 2020-2024, which recommended that the Indepedent Electoral Commission (IEC) recover in full D15.8 million it unlawfully paid to its members and staff as election allowances.  FPAC ordered that these funds be recovered within 12 months.

The Committee said it has been established from  payment voucher files for the audit period, that the IEC paid these allowances  in different categories  namely three months’ gross salary incentives, nomination allowances, supervision and monitoring allowances and motivational tokens.

The Committee said it confirmed that these categories of allowances were not covered under the Election Service Code of 2018, indicating that the IEC should not have authorised such payments, rendering them “irregular and potentially fraudulent.”

According to FPAC, the payment vouchers included a memo from the IEC Chief Executive Officer to the Chairman, justifying that for all relevant election periods, these payments are established Commission practice for staff motivation.

It added that “for the 2021 Presidential Election, which coincided with the IEC’s staff party, the Chief Electoral Officer recommended that instead of the staff party, let three months’ gross salary be paid to all staff, which was approved and continued in subsequent elections covered by the audit.”

In light of these findings, FPAC recommends that the IEC must ensure these funds are recovered in full within 12 months and submit the recovery plan of the funds to the National Assembly, within 45 days after the tabling of the report, and that the IEC management should ensure that payment of allowances are explicitly provided for within the Electoral Service Code rather than being based on culture, tradition, or past informal practice.

Unretired funds relating to election expenses
FPAC also noted that part of its operating procedures; the IEC transferred budgeted election funds into the private bank accounts of appointed returning officers in the various administrative regions, with the expectation that these funds would be used for election activities and fully retired to the IEC finance director with supporting documentation at the end of each election.

“However, reconciliation between the total funds transferred and the actual expenses supported by retirement documents for the 2021–2023 electoral cycle revealed unretired funds amounting to D6,926,003.55.

This means that the returning officers failed to provide concrete evidence to account for these funds, thereby casting significant doubt on the proper utilisation and accountability of election resources,” FPAC said. It urged the IEC to ensure recovery of these sums within 12 months and submit a recovery document to the Assembly.

According to FPAC during their review of the bank statements of each returning officer for the elections conducted between 2021 and 2023, it was noted that some returning officers did not withdraw the full amounts transferred to their accounts by the IEC for election- related expenses. It revealed that funds totaling D1,540,351 remained in the respective bank accounts of several officers and were neither withdrawn nor returned to the IEC at the conclusion of the respective elections. “This situation raises concerns that the unutilised balances may have been retained in private bank accounts for personal use,” the report observed.

According to lawmakers monies were retained in the accounts of the following returning officers: Anthony Robert Secka D31,369: Amadou Taal D818,719: Lamin Jadama D111,012: Lamin Cham D18,666,027: Joseph Colley D56,876: Haddy Sidat D126,928 and Sulayman Joof D131,150. The Committee recommends that the Inspector General of Police and the Financial Intelligence Unit should investigate these returning officers in relation to funds transferred and the unutilised balance retained in private bank accounts within 45 days after tabling the report.

$85,789.99 over payment to ESI 
FPAC also observed discrepancies in the payment of money on the contract signed between IEC and Electoral Service International (ESI) for the procurement of voter registration materials. The contract stipulated that ESI would supply the products and perform the related services for a total sum of $2,995,000.

However, the bank statements showed that actual payments to ESI was $3,080,789.99, resulting in an overpayment of $85,789.99. “We recommend for the IGP to investigate these discrepancies,” the FPAC report said.